You just walk over there and into the office and say, 'Hey, be my prom date,'" he said. "It's that simple.

If something doesn't work exactly right, or maybe needs some special treatment, you don't just throw it away. Everything can't be fully operational all the time. Sometimes, we need to have the patience to give something the little nudge it needs.

I used to worry I was entirely uninteresting, but the truth is I think if my life was more exciting I'd never have any time to write.

The first boy was always the hardest.

I always tried to imagine what it would be like to open your door to find something you had given up on. Maybe it had seen places you never had, been rerouted and passed through so many strange hands, but still somehow found its way back to you, all before the day even began.

I'd been through so much, falling short again and again, and only recently had found a place where who I was, right now, was enough.

Sometimes, we just have to be happy with what people can offer us. Even if it's not what we want, at least it's something.